Amid Pakistan’s poor show in ICC T20 World Cup 2024, wicket-keeper batter Umar Akmal has shown his interest in making a comeback to the national side. Umar Akmal shared a post on Twitter (X) on Monday, June 11 where he indicated that he is fit to play for Pakistan.
Notably, Umar Akmal last played for Pakistan in 2019. His last game was a T20I game against Sri Lanka in October 2019. Since then, he has been overlooked by selectors. In April 2020, Umar Akmal was handed a three-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) disciplinary committee for not reporting corruption approaches.
The committee found him guilty in the matter and as Akmal accepted the charges, he was banned for three years from all forms of cricket. However, the wicket-keeper batter has served his three-year ban and Pakistan selectors are free to pick him again in the national side if they wish to.
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Umar Akmal showcases his fitness in X post
After Pakistan’s two back-to-back defeats in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Umar Akmal has indicated that he is still fit and ready to play for the team. The 34-year-old tweeted his photos on X, where he showed his abs and muscles.
“Attention please. This is for those who think I am not fit,” he captioned the two photos. The post became quite viral on X and gained over 1500-plus likes in no time.
While some fans praised him for his fitness, others trolled him to enter WWE rather than coming back to cricket. Have a look at Umar Akmal’s post below.
Attention please
This is for those who think i am not fit#Umarakmal #pakispan #Cricket2024 pic.twitter.com/p8Zfd1UDc3— Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) June 11, 2024
Umar Akmal made his international debut for Pakistan in 2009. Till 2019 before his ban, he played a total of 16 Tests, 121 ODIs, and 84 T20Is for the Men-In-Green. At one moment, he was the primary wicketkeeper for the side.
He added 1003 runs in Tests averaging 35.82. He also scored 3194 runs in ODIs and 1690 runs in T20Is at a batting average of 34+ and 26+ respectively.
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Pakistan has slim chances to qualify for Super 8 in ICC T20 WC 2024
Meanwhile, Pakistan has lost two back-to-back games in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Led by Babar Azam, they faced a humiliating defeat against an amateur USA team in their opening game in the Super Over.
Later, Pakistan also lost against India in their second match, failing to chase down a mere 120-run target in the match. While Pakistan bowlers showed a superb effort in the 1st innings, their batters lost their wickets like a house of cards.
With 2 defeats in 2 games, the Pakistan team takes the 4th spot in the Group A points table out of 5 teams. They will play two more games against Canada and Ireland in the group stage.
However, Babar Azam & Co. have already lost 2 games out of 4 in the first round and have a very slim chance to qualify for the next round. Only the top two teams from Group A will reach the Super 8 round in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
